Posted on 12/29/2021 8:13:35 PM PST by Paul R.
I was looking at some LED car light bulbs online (for a backup light application (personal vehicle) that takes a stock 921 bulb), and ran across a product with a "2020" SMD (surface mount) LED in it. I often take a look at LED specifications to see if the output claimed for a light or bulb is even possible, but in this case I could not find anything that seemed definitive, online. Most was confusing...
...Such as references to "2020 (5050 Metric)" LEDS, and various references to multicolor (RGB) LEDs (which are a different animal entirely.
Looking at the product drawing, the physical size of the LED being 2mm x 2mm seems reasonable.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71WlXa4c9LL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
But, if the seller's rating for the light is even halfway reasonable, and this seller doesn't usually seem to be in total exaggeration mode / the reviews seem pretty good -- the LED mfgr. is getting in the neighborhood of 100 lumens out of a 2mm x 2 mm LED. That's a LOT. Possibly it could be done with the latest chip materials and very good heat sinking?
I would think this would be a killer LED chip for a tight-focus beam flashlight.
Does anyone have a good source of info. or spec sheet on this LED?
Link to product page for the light bulb:
Frankly, 200 lumens isn’t that much for this tech and there are a TON of cheap LED flashlights which use such a chip and illuminate at approximately 200 lumens with a single chip. Might be same chip.
If the price is right, I’d try those for backup lights.
Just be grateful it’s not this new LED you bought into.
Well, that’s interesting all on it’s own. What chip 2mm square is being used in flashlights with actual (as opposed to eBay, etc. ratings) 200 lumen output? I have higher lumen output flashlights but they use bigger chips, and consequently less tight beams. If I knew what chip to look for, that’d narrow the search for a new head flashlight. :-)
As for the backup bulb, the price is pretty reasonable - $10 for a pair. Higher output bulbs are available but are larger & heavier, which is an issue as those bulbs tend to vibrate out of their sockets if the bulb is horizontal when mounted in the vehicle.
In any event, it’d be nice to find real specs on these 2020 series LED’s.
Sheesh!
It is unlikely that this is the case, but (in a past life) we worked on expanding the cinema color gamut from REC 709 to a new standard called REC 2020 (BT2020).
Since these LED lights can be used for multiple purposes, and REC 2020 hasn't really taken off, perhaps the factory designed the LEDs to meet REC 2020 specifications, and somebody bought them for another application already stamped "2020" at the factory, maybe part of the plastic mold for the body.
Of course, just as with Made in China "organic" products, do not believe that they meet the actual standards as the US and EU defines it. These could be ones that didn't meet the tests for REC 2020, but who would care if used in another application ...
So these is some kind of packaging standard that all of these fit. Kind of like 2032 or 2025 cell batteries fit a package design.
Well, it is a thought.
Great. You can use them to blind everyone behind you.
I think that’s something else. For surface mount LED’s, “2020” would just be the length and width x10 (2.0 mm x 2.0 mm actual). Then there would be different prefixes or suffixes to delineate variations or series (efficiency, voltage [as with 2 or 3 “chips within a chip”), etc.
For example: https://cree-led.com/products/j3030/jseries-3030
I am getting ready in the new year to replace all lights in my car, From those behind the panels to illuminate the heat knob, dash lights, panel, backup, brakes, turn signal and headlights. I want to blind other people for once. A person can barely see at night with newer cars coming at you with the LED and whatever else they have. Mostly, I just want the dash and interior to light up brightly, improve the headlights, and the backups..but may as well do them all. This car will be my last, I am sure.
I thought about upgrading my halogen headlight bulbs to LEDs, but then I realized that it would be cheaper and less work to just drive around with the high beams on all the time. And I’d get the same results.
They are backup lights - they only come on when vehicle is in reverse, running, and the parking brake is off. Unless someone is immediately behind a parking space I’m trying to parallel park in to, at night, nobody’s going to be blinded.* And, maybe not even then. The beam spread / dispersion is almost hemispherical, emitted from an apparent source (diffusor / “lense”) of 10+ square inches. It’s probably no more glary than an exposed soft white 60 watt ceiling light bulb, IF the actual output is 800 lumens (unlikely). Breaking the originating source into 6, instead of a near point source filament, may help too.
*In the case given, they’ll probably be happy I can actually see them.
Not that excessive glare is not a valid night driving concern. But, that’s mostly headlights mis-adjusted, those dang bluish bulbs, or LED bulbs not certified for headlights (where you need a near point source for the headlight optics to properly chop off the top of your low beams’ pattern.
Right - I saw those too, which is part of what’s got me puzzled: If I scale the image I posted above, the LED’s in that bulb are pretty close to 2mm x 2mm.
I probably ought to just buy the darn things and see how they turn out!
There are a very few LED headlight bulbs that do the point source thing correctly...
(That’s why most aftermarket LED bulbs are NOT certified for headlight use.)
I discovered that the reflectivity INSIDE the low beams (ie., the reflectors) of our 2009 Outback had deteriorated due to heat from the halogen bulbs. So, even a brand new bulb that looks “white hot” outside the mount projects dim orange once in it. This problem seems to accelerate once it starts — I suspect that a little deterioration leads to more heat absorbed —> more discoloration —> yet more heat absorbed —> ... sort of a feedback loop. Eventually the deterioration covers enough area to re-radiate the heat that things reach a sort of equilibrium, but by then the low beam headlights are pretty impaired. Interestingly, the high beams are fine - possibly because they were never on long enough in the right conditions (headlights turned on, on a hot day) to start the process.
The clusters “can” be disassembled, but no chrome paint I could find can stand up to the heat from halogens. So.... I’m ordering brand new front headlight clusters. Ouch! Not cheap. At least I can do the work (requires removal of front bumper, grille, and a little fender, on this car!)
Hopefully, making SURE to not have the headlights on during hot sunny days will prevent a recurrence. (The DLR mode uses the high beams IF the headlights are switched off.)
The real solution would be point source LED low beam bulbs with the Canbus resistor EXTERNAL to each bulb —like mounted to the nearby metal frame of the car. But, I don’t know if anybody’s thought up such a sensible combo at a reasonable price...
Oops - DRL. It’s late...
I wonder if most of this is dependent on the heat sinking?
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